Sad News for Life Writing: Barbara Harlow has Passed

Please find a message below from CBR director Craig Howes regarding the passing of Barbara Harlow. A more extensive tribute will appear in a future issue of Biography.

“Barbara was a major influence for many in our field. To quote Julia Watson, ‘Resistance Literature (1987) was one of the earliest and most important interventions in autobiographical studies, as it brought to attention testimonies and manifestos of people struggling under oppressive regimes around the world. She did similar work on behalf of incarcerated women in Barred, her book on women’s prison writings. And her numerous co-edited collections on the work of colonial and postcolonial writers around the world engaged in political struggle is an archive of work awaiting further study.’

“Barbara was also a mentor, friend, co-worker, and conscience for many of us at the Center for Biographical Research in Honolulu. She published on a number of occasions in Biography, was a participant in the symposium that led to the “Corporate Personhood” special issue, and was one of the keynotes at our 2008 IABA conference here. We will miss her warmth, and her fire.”